


Return to the House on Haunted Hill

by Cheriluvs10



Category: The X-Files, house on haunted hill
Genre: Angst, Crossover, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-07
Updated: 2017-06-07
Packaged: 2018-11-10 12:23:55
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,813
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11126937
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cheriluvs10/pseuds/Cheriluvs10
Summary: X-Files/House on Haunted Hill crossover. Mulder and Scully investigate the House on Haunted Hill after thedisappearance of two teenagers





	1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

"C'mon Paul, Hurry up!" Frank said as he hurried along the dirt road.

"You sure this is a good idea?" Paul asked as he ran to catch up.

"Sure! Why, Are you chicken?" Frank said as he glanced back

"No, of course not!" Paul said nervously. " I just don't want to get caught  
breaking and entering"

Frank snorted as he navigated his way down the overgrown path. Finally he  
reached the end of the trail and smiled at Paul. "There it is!" he said as  
he pointed up. " The house on haunted hill!"

Paul looked up and gulped as he saw the huge white building balanced on the  
edge of the cliff. " You gotta be shittin me!" He said. "That was a loony  
bin?"

Frank pointed to the gate. Paul walked over and read a little plaque mounted  
on one of the pillars beside the gate. "Vannacutt Institute for the  
Criminally Insane" He looked over at Frank "You really want to go in there?"

Frank snorted. “Of course I do! Don't be such a baby! Now, Come on!"

Paul sighed as he reluctantly followed Frank up the trail towards the house.  
He stared in awe at the building as they got closer. It was gigantic! He  
wondered how many inmates they had had in there. He shuddered as he  
remembered hearing the stories of torture and experimentation that Doctor  
Vannacutt had performed on the helpless patients. He thanked God he had not  
been one of them.

As they neared the door, Frank turned and grinned at Paul "oooooooo scary!"  
He said in a mocking tone.

Paul rolled his eyes and watched as Frank picked the lock. He heard a little  
click and watched as the door opened slowly into darkness. As he stepped  
inside, he began to cough and gag from the amount of dust in the room. He  
wished he had brought along an oxygen tank.

Frank looked at him. "Cool, huh?" He grinned "Hard to believe this was where  
they experimented on crazy people!"

"I believe it!" Paul muttered as he brushed aside some cobwebs.

As they walked through the building Paul began to feel like they were being  
watched. He edged closer to Frank who was too busy looking around to notice.  
Suddenly Paul felt a gust of frigid air breeze by him. He grabbed Frank by  
the shoulder who turned around with an annoyed expression on his face.

"Let's get the hell outta here, NOW!"

Frank snorted. "There is nothing to be afraid of, stupid! it's just an old  
building! You..." He trailed off as he noticed Pauls eyes widening in  
terror. "Oh now what?..." He said as he spun around.

Outside the house, two terrified screams were heard for a moment and then  
all was silence...

********

"Everything’s fine here, Scully!" Mulder said into the phone. "Will's just  
playing with his toys.' He looked down at his son on the floor and made a  
goofy face as William looked up at him. He grinned at Williams joyful  
giggle. "So, what do you want for dinner tonight?" He said playfully

Scully chuckled. " How about we go out to eat for a change, Mulder? I'm  
tired of scraping the burnt food off the pans when you get done "cooking"!"

Mulder gasped. "Why Scully, I'm an excellent cook! Will always seems to like  
my cooking!"

"That's cause Will's only 6 months old and he can't tell you what an awful  
cook you are!" Scully looked up as Skinner appeared in the doorway. "I gotta  
go, Mulder. We'll discuss this later!"

Mulder hung up the receiver and bent over to look at William. "You like my  
cooking, right?" He watched as Will looked at him with a wide eyed  
expression, a string of drool running down his chin. Mulder nodded. "You  
like my cooking, you're just not opinionated like your mom is!"

********

Scully studied the case file Skinner had sat in front of her. "You say this  
Doctor Vannacutt experimented on his patients?"

Skinner nodded. "He was a real nutcase! He did things that would make Hitler  
cringe. For a long time, no one knew what he was doing to them. They were  
the criminally insane, so no one cared. It wasn't until the place burned in  
'31 that they realized how much of a butcher he had been!"

Scully looked up at him. "And now two kids are missing?"

Skinner nodded. "No one's seen them in two days. They talked to one of their  
friends though and one of them mentioned going up to the asylum on a dare.  
That's the last anyone's heard of them." Skinner shifted uneasily.  
"Actually...they want Mulder to investigate."

Scully blinked "Mulder?"

"Yeah, One of the parents read about him in some article. They figure he'd  
be perfect for the job. They insisted he come along, since he's had  
experience with the supernatural."

"Do they think ghosts kidnapped their sons?"

He shrugged. "Probably at this point, they are willing to explore any  
possibility!"

Scully nodded. "Looks like we're gonna have to get a babysitter then!"

********

"Are you sure it's no trouble?" Scully said as he passed William to Langley

Langley shook his head " No, no trouble at all. We'd be glad to look after  
him. I'm sure we can find something for him to do, just as long as we don't  
get him around Jimmy. I wouldn't trust him with a dust bunny." Langley looked  
over as the door opened and Byers, Frohike and Jimmy entered. "Hey guys!  
Scully needs us to babysit for a few days while they work on a case. I told  
her we would!"

Jimmy walked over to Will "Oh my, he's grown so much. Can I hold him?"

Langley looked over at Scully. Seeing her nod he handed the baby to Jimmy.  
"Don't drop him!"

Jimmy looked at Langley with a hurt expression. "I'm not an idiot, you know!"

Behind him, Frohike snorted softly.

As Jimmy held Will, Langley looked back to Scully. "Don't worry, We'll keep  
an eye on him."

Scully smiled. "It shouldn't be too long, I hope! I'm glad you are willing  
to do this"

"Are you kidding?" Jimmy said. "We're only too happy to do this, right  
guys?" He looked at each of them and was met with hard stares. Ignoring  
them, he began to tickle Will under the chin. "You are such a good baby, Yes  
you are." He gasped as Will vomited down the front of his shirt. Looking up  
at Langley, he sheepishly passed him to him.

Langley rolled his eyes " This is gonna be hell, I just know it!"

*********

Mulder yawned and rubbed his eyes as he glanced over at Scully. He had been  
up half the night studying this case file and he felt tired. He was glad  
they were flying, he didn't think he could handle driving at the moment. He  
smiled at Scully and gave her a kiss on the cheek. Scully smiled and leaned  
her head on Mulder's shoulder and breathed a contented sigh.

Mulder looked at her. "Are you ok, honey?"

Scully nodded. "I'm fine, I just hope this case doesn't last very long. I  
hate to be apart from Will for very long"

Mulder squeezed her hand. "I know hon, I feel the same way!" Especially  
since Will is in the care of the Lone Gunmen. Mulder hoped they could handle  
him.

********

After an long plane ride and a sleepless night in a hotel. Mulder and Scully  
found themselves heading towards the Vannacutt Institute, or the house on  
haunted hill as the locals called it. Mulder chuckled. He loved the  
imaginative names people came up with for supernatural places.

As the rain pelted down around them, he opened the case file and glanced  
through it again. It was a horrific, but fascinating history. The Vannacutt  
Institute for the Criminally Insane had been founded in 1923 by a brilliant  
young physician named Doctor Benjamin Vannacutt. Although the sanitarium had  
been established to provide a humane alternative to jailing insane felons,  
it quickly became a house of horrors as Doctor Vannacutt decided that no one  
would care if he used them as guinea pigs in his research of the human body.  
Dissections, shock treatments, dissections, amputations, all carried out by  
Vannacutt in his thirst for knowledge. The carnage continued until 1931 when  
the inmates somehow escaped from their cells and quite literally began to  
take over the asylum. In the confusion, someone started a fire and after  
Vannacutt threw a lockdown switch, All but 5 of Vannacutt’s staff were  
incinerated.

After that, the asylum was shut down until a few years ago when some people  
decided to try to restore it. After a series of mysterious deaths however,  
it was abandoned.

Then a year ago, the house had been rented out by a Mr. Stephen Price, owner  
and proprietor of Price Amusement Parks, a chain of high tech horror theme  
parks. Apparently, he was giving a party for his wife, Evelyn Price and  
invited 5 people to spend the night with a reward of a million dollars each  
to everyone who was alive in the morning. The next morning only two were  
left. Five people including the caretaker, Watson Pritchett were found  
murdered or in some cases, not found at all. Now, these two boys were the  
latest victims.

Mulder closed the file and closed his eyes. He was really dreading going  
into this place. He hadn't had any sleep and he wasn't too thrilled about  
spending time in a haunted insane asylum, especially considering what had  
happened there.

He opened his eyes as the car rolled to a stop. Scully peered through the  
windshield at the muddy road. "I don't think we can go much further, Mulder.  
It looks like we'll have to walk."

Mulder groaned. *Great, just great!" He thought as Scully reached into the  
backseat to grab the umbrellas. As Scully handed him a black one, he looked  
at her "You know, being a stay at home dad has made me appreciate the  
comforts of a nice warm apartment."

Scully giggled and playfully punched him in the arm "Aw C'mon Spooky, I  
thought you lived for this kind of thing!"

Mulder punched her back "Not since I discovered afternoon naps!"

*********

Mulder stood in shock as he spied the building through the pouring rain.  
"Holy Shit, That is one big building!" He said in awe. He wondered if he and  
Scully were going to be able to move through it without getting lost. He  
noticed Scully had stopped further up the path and was staring at him.

"Coming?" She yelled.

Mulder sighed and trudged towards her. “I have a really bad feeling about  
this, Scully" He said.

Mulder's butterflies increased as they neared the entrance. He hoped they  
were in and out and away from this place. When they reached the door, Mulder  
pushed on it. With a loud squeak, the door slowly opened into blackness.  
Mulder reached for his flashlight and switching it on, he entered with  
Scully behind him. Coughing from the dust their footsteps stirred up, he  
managed to find the light switch. He turned it on and turned around. They  
seemed to be in a salon. There was a bar on the far wall and chairs and a  
couch were arranged beside it. A fireplace was beside the bar and a flight  
of stairs were beside it. There was also a table in the center of the room.  
Mulder looked up and noticed that a stained glass skylight that was above it  
was broken in places. Setting his things on the table, he began to walk  
around the room.

As he neared the stairs, he heard Scully gasp. He swung around to see her  
staring over her left shoulder. He walked to her and put his hand on her  
right shoulder. "Scully?" he asked tentatively.

Scully turned and looked at him with confusion in her eyes. "I thought I saw  
someone over there." She said pointing to the left side. "It was a man and  
he was staring at me with these sad eyes."

Mulder walked over to the wall. Walking back and forth along the length of  
it. He felt for any hidden areas or doors. Finding nothing, he looked back  
at Scully and shrugged.

"Mulder, I'm not imagining it! I saw someone!" Scully protested.

Mulder walked to Scully and laid a hand on her shoulder. "We better stick  
together, just to be on the safe side" He pointed to the staircase. "Let's  
search up there maybe we'll find something."

Scully nodded and followed him to the stairs.

Behind them a man stood in the shadows. As they ascended the stairs, he  
whispered softly.

"No!"


	2. Chapter 2

Chap 2

 

"For an insane asylum, they seemed to had alot of luxuries!" He said as he  
stared at the guest bedroom. He sat down on the huge bed . "Scully, look at  
this! This Doctor Vannacutt had a taste for the finer things, that's for  
sure!" He said as he bounced up and down on the mattress.

Scully appeared in the doorway and watched him. "Don't you think you should  
be searching for the missing teens instead of bouncing on the bed like a  
child?" She said with exasperation

Mulder stopped bouncing and looked at Scully with mock hurt on his face. "Oh  
Scully, live a little! I was just demonstrating how comfy the bed was!" He  
leaned towards her. "Maybe we can come back after we find the kids and have  
some fun!"

Scully shook her head. "Mulder, you never cease to amaze me! You are the  
only person I know who would want to get it on in a haunted insane asylum!"

Mulder chuckled as he stood up. "Only with you, my dear. Only with you!"

Rolling her eyes again, Scully stepped out into the corridor followed by  
Mulder.

********

As Scully walked down the hallway, she couldn't shake the feeling she was  
being watched. She looked back behind her, but all she could see was Mulder.

Mulder noticed her confusion. "Scully? What's wrong?"

Scully shook her head "I just get the feeling someone's watching us. I've  
had this feeling ever since we came in the door."

Mulder looked behind him, but he saw nothing. Turning back to Scully, he  
smiled at her. "Maybe it's your nerves, hon!" He said squeezing her  
shoulder.

Scully nodded and smiled. "I hope so!" She said softly.

As they walked down the corridor together, the figure quickly ran up to get  
a better vantage point from which he could observe the strangers. As he  
watched them go in and out of the rooms, he gritted his teeth in  
frustration.

"Get out now, dammit!" He whispered.

**********

Mulder sighed. "Nothing up here, Scully. Maybe we should search in the  
basement."

In the shadows, the figure hissed "No! Get out!"

Mulder glanced behind him, but saw only an empty corridor. He turned back to  
Scully, who was descending the stairs.

"Did you say something, Scully?"

Scully looked up at him quizzically "No, why?"

Mulder shook his head "I coulda sworn...Never mind, let's go downstairs"

As the figure watched the strangers disappear down the staircase, he cursed  
silently to himself and walked over to the stairs. After he had been sure  
the strangers had left the staircase, he quietly went down and peeked around  
the corner. He could see them in the salon gathering extra equipment. He  
quickly ran to the couch behind them and ducked down.

Scully looked up and over at the couch. She coulda sworn she saw something  
run over there out of the corner of her eye. She glanced up at Mulder who  
was loading his revolver. She looked back again to the couch and started to  
walk over to it, gun drawn.

"Coming, Scully?"

She turned around to see Mulder heading for the basement steps. He looked  
back at her and motioned towards them. Scully took one last look at the  
couch and followed.

*********

Scully coughed as they descended the stairs into inky blackness. "Mulder, I  
can't see a thing!"

Mulder swung his flashlight towards the wall. He squinted at a huge switch  
on the wall. "Stay there Scully, I think I found the power switch!" Moving  
past Scully, he put his hand on the huge switch and flipped it into the up  
position.

The lights crackled and flickered and came to life

and then...

"JESUS CHRIST!!! Scully screamed.

Mulder flew around and stood with his mouth hanging open.

Scully had her back on the stairsteps. With a look of horror frozen on her  
face, she pointed straight ahead.

Mulder came down the rest of the stairs and stood looking in awe at the  
display cases filled with skinned humans and animals. He could barely keep  
from puking. To the left and right of him were four display cases. One held  
a skinned man riding on a skinned horse. One was a dissected man and One was  
the torso of a female. The worst one was a skinned baby with it's head  
opened up like an orange to reveal the brain.

Mulders stomach churned as he thought of Will and wondered what kind of man  
would be able to do that to any human being, let alone a helpless baby.  
Looking behind him, he noticed that scully had focused on the baby as well.  
He ached as he noticed a tear in her eye and he knew that she was thinking  
the same thing as him. He reached out his hand to her and helped her to her  
feet.

"Oh my God, Mulder." She said softly. "I've never seen anything as horrible  
as this"

Mulder nodded and hugged Scully tight. He buried her head in his shoulder,  
so she wouldn't have to see anymore and quickly walked her away from the  
gruesome displays.

Behind them on the stairs, the figure shook his head. "I can't believe you  
still want to stay, even after seeing these!" He whispered. "Don't you  
realize what you're getting yourselves into?" He followed them as they  
walked down the hall.

After getting away from the display cases, Mulder and Scully managed to  
regain their composure. Mulder reached into his pocket and pulled out a  
rough map of the building that had been in the casefile. As they passed by a  
doorway, Mulder looked in.

"According to this map, this is one of the shock therapy rooms."

Scully looked in and saw a examination table covered with cobwebs. a little  
brown leather helmet laid on top of it.

"Really lovely" Scully said sarcastically.

Mulder nodded. "According to the casefile, a bunch of these rooms are wired  
together. Doctor Vannacutt liked to administer the shock therapy to 18  
people at a time."

Scullys eyes widened. "You've got to be kidding" she said, looking up at  
Mulder.

Mulder shook his head. "I wish I was Scully, but it's the truth."

Scully stared hard at him. "And you want to make love here?"

Mulder grinned as he gestured to the table "Well..not here! I was thinking  
of something more comfortable. Unless you're into shock therapy" He poked  
her in the ribs.

"Grow up, Mulder!" Scully said as she left the room.

Mulder shrugged as he followed her. "Ask a stupid question..." He said under  
his breath.

**********

Mulder found he kept having to check the map more and more. *The whole place  
is a damn maze, down here* He thought. He couldn't see how the staff could  
have gotten around. He had enough trouble getting his bearings since  
everything looked alike to him. Mulder looked back as Scully turned a corner  
in front of him. *I shoulda brought breadcrumbs* he thought.

"Mulder!!!!" Scully screamed.

Mulder spun around at the sound of Scullys screams. He flew around the  
corner and stopped dead in his tracks. Scully was nowhere to be found.

"Scully! Where are you?" He screamed. He shuddered as a very faint "Mulder!"  
came back to him somewhere down the corridor. Mulder ran as fast as he  
could. He ran around corners and down hallways searching frantically for  
Scully. At last he could run no more, and he collapsed on the floor.

As he was catching his breath, he became aware of someone standing over him.  
He looked up and was shocked to see the ghost of a man glaring down at him,  
his arms folded over his chest.

"I warned you to get out!" Watson Pritchett said "You are just like everyone  
else who's been to this house. No one ever listens to me!"


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3  
***********

Mulder rubbed his eyes rapidly. He hoped that the ghost he had seen was only  
a result of the stress and weariness he had from trying to find Scully. When  
he opened his eyes and looked up however, the ghost was still there staring  
at him coldly.

"You're not imagining me." He said. "I'm as real as you are, and no matter  
how many times you rub your eyes, I'm not going to disappear."

Mulder groaned as he struggled to get to his feet. "Who are you, then?" He  
asked.

The ghost sighed. "My name is Watson Pritchett, I was the caretaker here  
before my body was corroded into a pile of ash by the evil in this place.  
Now I mainly try to keep other people from coming here and meeting their  
demise. So far, I've done a bang up job!" He sighed and gestured to Mulder.  
"Now how about you?"

"My name is Fox Mulder" He looked over as Watson snorted. "And before you  
say anything, Yes, Fox is my real name. My partner is Dana Scully. She is  
with the FBI and I'm here because I'm an expert in the paranormal We were  
sent here to investigate the disappearance of two teenage boys." He stopped  
talking as he saw Pritchett raise an eyebrow. "Do you know who I'm talking  
about?"

Pritchett nodded. "Yup"

"Well, do you know where they are?"

"Yup"

"Well, Are they still living or not?"

Pritchett looked up at the ceiling and back at Mulder "Well...It depends on  
your definition of "Living". They're alive but I doubt if they are still  
able to function normally now."

Mulder's eyes narrowed "Just what is that supposed to mean?"

Pritchett leaned against the wall and scratched his cheek thoughtfully.  
"Well...last I saw of them, one boy had had the top of his skull removed  
like the lovely infant in the display case and the other one had been cut  
open and had had all his organs removed except his heart and his lungs." He  
folded his arms across his chest."So you see, I don't think I would call it  
living anymore, would you?"

Mulder felt his stomach churn as he dreaded asking the next question "And  
Scully?" He said softly

Pritchett shook his head. "I don't know about her, I've been trailing you  
the whole time you've been here, trying to get you to leave before something  
like this occured." He cocked his head. "But, you've been like everyone  
else. You have no idea what you're up against. This is no ordinary house.  
It's not even an ordinary haunted house. This place is nothing but a nesting  
place for pure evil. Everyone who has tried to stay here has died or, in the  
case of those two boys, are dying. There have only been two people who  
managed to escape the evil and that's only because I helped them. If I  
hadn't helped them, they would have been swallowed up like everyone else in  
this house, myself included."

Mulder blinked "So how come you are different?"

Pritchett sighed. "I'm different because everyone else that has been  
swallowed by the evil has been corrupt in some way. The evil feeds and grows  
off the evil of others. I'm not corrupt so It doesn't hang onto me like it  
does the others. I have nothing to offer it, so It leaves me alone. That's  
doesn't mean It won't do something to me If I get in it's way though,  
that's why I haven't been able to help those two boys."

Mulder stepped closer "So how did you help those other two people then, if  
you can't help those boys?"

"The two people I helped hadn't been taken by the evil yet. They barely  
managed to escape to the outside. The whole place was in lockdown and It had  
severed the cord that operated one of the steel panels. I was able to get to  
the severed rope and pull on it to raise the panel and allow their escape."  
Pritchett shrugged. "It was the least I could do, but I paid for it. Doctor  
Vannacutt tortured me afterwards, until he grew tired of it and I was able  
to wiggle free. Since then, I've been very carefull to stay out of his way.  
I've been trying to get close to the boys to free them, but Vannacutt has  
always been too close for me to try anything." He shook his head "It's too  
late now, anyway. If they aren't dead yet, they will be soon and I'm sure  
your partner will join them."

Mulder felt tears come to his eyes as he imagined Scully in the hands of  
Vannacutt. He couldn't even stand to think of what he might do to her. He  
felt a hand on his shoulder and looked up. Pritchett looked at him  
sympathetically.

"I understand how you feel, believe me! I lost my father to this house when  
he was trying to restore it. But, you have to be strong right now for her.  
She needs you and you'll need all your strength and wits to fight this  
house. You can't fight the evil alone but maybe with my help we can rescue  
her in one piece."

Mulder looked at him. "I thought you wanted to stay the hell away from  
Vannacutt."

Pritchett shrugged. "I'm tired of seeing innocent people get destroyed by  
that maniac. He's had his fun for far too long, it's time to send him to  
Hell where he belongs!" Pritchett grinned. "Besides, she was good looking.  
I've always been a sucker for a pretty face!"

Mulder smiled. "I agree with that, Pritchett. One hundred percent. She's  
alot more than a pretty face though, trust me!"

Pritchett nodded. "I hope so, she's gonna need more than that to stay alive  
and stay sane." He began to walk down the corridor. "Follow me, I have an  
idea about where they might have taken her."

************

Scully opened her eyes and quickly closed them again at the sight of the  
bright light above her. wincing in pain, she turned her head to the side  
and slowly opened them again. Her eyes widened in horror at what she saw. On  
a gurney across from her lay one of the boys they had been looking for. His  
chest cavity had been cut open and the skin had been peeled back on either  
side and held down with scissors rammed into the gurney. She gagged as she  
realized she could make out his heart beating in his chest. As she stared  
silently, the boy turned his head to look at her. His eyes were full of  
dispair.

"Help me!" he gurgled.

She turned her head from him as he moaned softly. As she opened her eyes  
again, she gasped as she saw the second boy. He was chained to the back  
wall. The top of his skull had been lifted off to expose the brain  
underneith. The bottom half of his jaw had also been ripped off leaving  
nothing but a gaping hole and his tounge which was hanging helplessly down  
the front of his neck. A huge tube had been shoved into his throat and a  
strange black liquid was being pumped into him. Scully couldn't stand it  
anymore. Leaning her head over as best she could, she vomited all over the  
side of the gurney and the floor. As she looked up, she noticed the boy  
looking at her sorrowfully. He emitted a sound that sounded to Scully like  
"I'm sorry" Scully smiled at him apologetically. It was the only thing she  
could do at the moment, since she was tied down tightly to her gurney.

She raised her head as she heard a table being wheeled into the room. Her  
eyes widened as she recognized Doctor Vannacutt from his photo in the case  
file.

"No, you're dead!" She rasped

Vannacutt looked up from the table and begin to walk toward her. Scully  
noted with a mixture of shock and disgust that a bunch of bloody surgical  
instruments were lying on top.

"Ah, a new patient!" Doctor Vannacutt said with a leer. "Excellent, I was  
beginning to worry since these two have almost outlived their usefullness"

"You bastard!" Scully screamed "When I get ahold of you, I'll make you pay  
for this!"

She gasped as Vannacutt slapped her hard against the side of her face.

"I see that I shall have to use the gag on you!" He said "I do so hate to  
hear a woman scream while i'm working" Pulling Scully by the hair he began  
to slip a leather gag around her mouth. "Now, I trust you'll be more  
cooperative. " He said with a grin as he reached for a scalpel

**********

Pritchett motioned towards the end of the corridor. "This way!" He said.

Mulder followed close behind him hoping with all his heart that scully was  
okay. He knew how Scully had suffered when he had been abducted, he didn't  
want to experience the same feelings.

He jumped as Pritchett yelled and pointed to an open doorway at the end of  
the hall "No! Not again, you bastard!" He screamed as he ran down the  
hallway.

Mulder stood perplexed. All he could see was an empty room that was filled  
with cobwebs. "What?" He yelled to Pritchett. "There's nothing there!"

"Do you have a camcorder with you?" Pritchett yelled.

"yes!"

"Point it at the door and look at the screen, hurry!"

Mulder slid the backpack off his shoulders and pulled out his camcorder. He  
raised it to the door and gasped. Vannacutt was in the room with one of the  
boys and Scully. He had a scalpel positioned over scullys chest and he was  
staring at Pritchett as he ran into the room. Mulder took off down the  
hallway towards the door.

"Scully!!!"...


	4. Chapter 4

Scully looked up as she heard Mulders voice. "Mulder, help!" She  
cried. her voice trembling with fear.

Mulder ran as fast as he could towards her keeping the videocamera  
focused on Vannacutts face. His mind was filled with all the things he  
would do to the son of a bitch. He watched as Pritchett ran in ahead  
of him. 

"Enough, Vannacutt!" he screamed. 

Mulder watched in horror as Vannacutt grabbed Pritchett by his neck  
and raised him three feet off the ground. 

"Ah, Mr. Pritchett," Vannacutt said calmly. "I thought after I  
punished you the last time, you would know enough to stay out of my  
business. Perhaps you need a reminder!" He grinned as Pritchett  
squirmed in his grip. 

As Mulder stepped into the room, the veil between the living and the  
dead lifted like a forcefield and he was able to see Scully and the  
other two boys without the camcorder. Scully looked at him with  
pleading in her eyes. The boy next to her raised his head and nodded  
wearily. "Get her out of her" He mouthed to him. Mulder quietly  
tiptoed to Scullys side.

Pritchett looked over Vannacutt's shoulder and saw Mulder sneaking  
over to where Scully was. He decided to stall for time. "You'll never  
get away with this!" He said to Vannacutt.

"Mr. Pritchett,"Vannacutt said smugly. "I have been getting away with  
it for years now. When I was alive no one questioned what I did here.  
If it wasn't for the fire, no one would have found out! And now that  
I'm dead, I'm invincible!" 

Pritchett gagged as Vannacutt squeezed harder. 

Mulder looked up as he heard Pritchett gag. Pritchett looked at him  
and gave him a look that said "Don't worry about me!" Mulder nodded  
and continued unstrapping Scully from the gurney.

"I think I'll will enjoy torturing you again!" He said as he pulled  
Pritchett close to his face. "And this time, I won't stop!"  
Vannacutt's eyes widened as he saw Mulder behind him freeing Scully.

"What..." Vannacutt was stunned for a moment and then it slowly dawned  
on him what was happening. He glanced back at Pritchett who had a smug  
grin on his face. With a roar, He flung Pritchett to the ground. "You  
won't escape!" He yelled as Mulder and Scully ran out the door. He  
felt a tap on his shoulder and swung around to face Pritchett. 

"Surprise, bastard!" Pritchett yelled as he butted his head into  
Vannacutts stomach. He watched for a moment as Vannacutt was forced  
backwards onto the ground. Leaping over Vannacutts legs, he ran into  
the corridor after Mulder and Scully as Vannacutt yelled in anger and  
frustration.

**********

"Hurry Scully!" Mulder yelled as they ran hand in hand down the hall.  
Benieth them, the ground began to shake. "Oh shit!" Mulder yelled.  
"Now what?" He looked back and to his horror saw a huge black ghostly  
mass of people begin to give chase. While he stared transfixed at the  
abomination, he felt himself trip on a broken brick and fall into  
Scully knocking them both to the ground.

Both of them turned to see the black bohemoth barreling down on them.  
As it got closer they could make out naked bodies writhing and  
screaming in pain within the ghost. Mulder covered Scully with his  
body and prepared for the worst.

"Hey! Over here!"

Mulder looked up. He could barely make out Pritchett waving his arms  
frantically behind the ghost. The ghost turned to look at him and with  
a shrill scream, it began to give chase. Mulder took the opportunity  
to help Scully to her feet. Grabbing her hand, Mulder took off down  
the corridor again. He shuddered as he heard the thing scream in rage,  
angry at having been tricked by a simple ruse. As Mulder reached the  
end of the corridor and rounded the corner, he saw with dismay that  
the stairs were nowhere in sight. He sucked in his breath and pulling  
at Scully, he picked up the pace. As they reached the end of the hall,  
Mulder looked back and saw the ghost barreling down on them. He  
noticed that at the top of the ghost where the head should be was the  
grinning face of Vannacutt. Mulder turned the corner and saw that  
Pritchett was standing up at the other end.

Pritchett motioned to his left. "This way!" He yelled. 

Mulder and Scully ran as fast as they could. Both of them almost out  
of breath. Mulder felt each step becoming like lead. He wished that he  
and Scully were back at home with Will. Behind him, Mulder could hear  
the ghost yelling threats at Pritchett in many different voices,  
promising him eternal torture. He felt a deep admiration for Pritchett  
for managing to survive being in the house with all the evil that was  
there. Reaching Pritchett, he turned the corner and saw the stairs at  
the far end. He felt Pritchett coming up behind him, his breath ragged  
as he ran with them.

They reached the stairs and all of them stumbled up it, the  
monstrosity mere feet behind them. Pritchett ran in front of Mulder  
and motioned across the salon to the stairs. 

"Follow me!" He yelled

Mulder ran as hard as he could. He felt his body burning from the  
exertion and lack of air. Reaching the steps he and Scully took them  
two at a time. As they reached the second level, Pritchett pointed to  
his right and they turned the corner and followed him, the blackness  
in hot pursuit. 

Pritchett ran halfway down the corridor and found the door to the  
attic. opening it, he held the door open until Mulder and Scully were  
through and then he quickly shut the door and locked it. "Keep going!"  
He yelled as the center of the door began to creak and moan from the  
thing pushing on it. Just as Pritchett reached the top, the door  
exploded with an ear shattering boom and the darkness slinked up the  
stairs towards him. "Jesus, don't you ever give up?" Pritchett yelled  
as he ran across the room. 

As the thing reached the top of the stairs, Pritchett heard Vannacutt  
scream at him, "You will never escape me nor will they!"

"Ah, shut your trap" Pritchett mumbled under his breath. He ran to the  
far side of the room where the lockdown panel was. Mulder and Scully  
were in front of it, frantically trying to open it. Looking up,  
Pritchett spotted the severed rope that he had pulled once before to  
save Eddie and Jennifer from the creature. Sailing up to it, He began  
to pull down on the rope and with a mighty groan the panel began to  
slide upwards. "Hurry!" He yelled "Get under it!"

Mulder quickly shoved Scully through the hole. He went halfway through  
himself and looked back at Pritchett. "C'mon!" He called. 

Pritchett pulled down with all his might on the cord raising the panel  
as high as it could go. Letting go, he lunged at Mulder and pushed him  
through the door just as it slid shut. 

Pritchett settled down beside Mulder and Scully on the ledge outside  
the building. Behind him, he could hear the thing screaming in rage as  
it realized that it could not get them. Pritchett grinned. As  
powerfull as the evil was, it could never leave the confines of the  
asylum. Vannacutt could only hold dominion over those who were trapped  
in the house. He sighed as the screaming faded away to be replaced by  
the roar of the ocean far below them. He felt a great sadness that he  
couldn't help the other two boys, but he was certain the one chained  
to the wall had died and the other boy was well on his way. He only  
hoped that they were able to escape, if not in body at least in  
spirit.

He turned his head as Mulder pulled out his cell phone from his pocket  
and dialed a number. 

"Um...Skinner?" Mulder said. "I think we might need some assistance in  
leaving the asylum. " He said as he held Scully close.

Pritchett grinned. "It's a damn good thing you had that!" He said

***********

2 weeks later....

"Scully? Have you seen the remote?" Mulder asked as he searched around  
the apartment. He heard a small giggle and looked down to see Will  
playing with it. "Give that to me, you little squirt!" He said as Will  
laughed.

Scully sighed as she came into the living room. "Maybe Will's trying  
to tell you, you watch too much television!"

Mulder looked down at Will. "Nah, he wouldn't do that! Men know the  
importance of the remote. Don't we?" He said as he tickled Will under  
the arms.

Mulder blinked as a brillian white light flashed in front of his eyes.  
As the light faded Mulder looked and saw Pritchett standing in front  
of him. 

"Pritchett?" 

Pritchett nodded. "I'm free now! Thanks to you, I've moved on to a  
higher plane. I just wanted to come back to tell you and to tell you  
that both of the boys souls escaped. They are here as well!" Pritchett  
smiled at Mulder. "Thanks, for everything."

Mulder nodded. "Thank you, without your help, we never would have made  
it out alive."

Pritchett shrugged. "Like I said, I'm a sucker for a pretty face!" He  
looked over at Scully and winked at her. Scully smiled back and picked  
up Will. 

Pritchett grinned "So, this is your kid, eh?"

Scully nodded.

Pritchett leaned down into Will's face. "Next time your parents get  
ideas about visiting possessed houses, please stop them will you? I  
don't feel like coming over from the afterlife to save their butts  
again." He glanced over behind Scully "Unless it's your butt, then I  
might make an exception!"

"Priitchett!"

Pritchett looked at Mulder "What? I may be dead but I can still look,  
can't I?" He grinned as Mulder stared at him hard "Okay, I get the  
picture! I'll let you have Scully, I'll go find a nice dead chick and  
settle down." 

Pritchett waved as a bright light appeared in front of him. He stopped  
and looked at Mulder and Scully "Goodbye, my friends!" He said. As he  
stepped into the light, it disappeared without a trace. 

Mulder leaned back on the couch with his hands behind his head. "I'll  
say this Scully, You meet the nicest people in possessed  
houses!!"....

The End


End file.
